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01798 890 021There’s been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the prospect of employees being able to request compressed working hours – for example, making the move from a five day week to a four day working week but working longer days, so compressing five days work into four. The recent article in The Telegraph, which refers to a supposed ‘leaked government proposal’ containing a new mandate around compressed hours, seems to have stirred up quite a bit of concern.
So, we wanted to reassure you around the existing legislation for Flexible Working, as well as share some thoughts on the changes we’re likely to see coming down the line.
Following the change in government earlier this year, the new Labour government has pledged to make a series of legislative updates that will empower workers to ensure that their employment really ‘works’ for them.
There’s no doubt that flexible working will play an important role in this in some way. You can read more about the immediate changes expected in our blog on Labour’s First 100 Days here.
However, it’s important to remember that the ability for employees to request changes to their regular working patterns is not a new idea. Flexible working is the catch-all term, and could include requests for part-time working, homeworking, job-sharing and compressed hours, amongst others. Workers have been able to ask for this for over a decade. And it’s been a day one right for employees since the changes that came in as of 6th April 2024, through the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023. What is new though is the suggestion that employers must approve such requests and will be unable to turn them down, and it is still unclear how reasonable and viable that is for businesses.
But surely the point of flexible working hours must remain that it also works for the business too. There will have to be some consideration for businesses that simply don’t or can’t operate effectively for four long days per week. What if that’s not when your clients/customers are around or available, what if you operate seven days per week, what if there aren’t other colleagues to work with at 8am or 7pm on an employee’s working days, what if other businesses your business works with doesn’t operate in that way, is the economic infrastructure in the UK suited to four compressed day working weeks, and finally, how good for employee wellbeing is working four longer days of work trying to squeeze an extra day in. So many questions to explore and for the government to answer.
As per current legislation, employees are legally able to make up to two statutory flexible working requests each year, and employers must respond with a decision on these requests within two months (which can be extended by agreement). All employers must take the time to consider the requests, and if they are unable to accept the request for a genuine business reason (of which there are eight suggested reasons in the legislation), consult with the employee, inform the employee and explain their decision.
You can read our full overview of the current Flexible Working Legislation, and what that means for employers in our blog here. All employers are also expected to follow the ACAS code on Flexible Working, which further details acceptable reasons for declining a change request.
Whilst it’s difficult to know exactly what is in store in the future, it feels likely that the government will make amendments to the legislation. They may decide to strengthen the law further and make it harder for businesses to turn down flexible working requests. They might choose to increase the compensation (currently up to 8 weeks’ worth of pay) that businesses are liable for, if found to have made an unfair decline of a flexible working request.
As always, the best course of action is to take a proactive approach! For employers, now would be a great time to review your flexible working policies and ensure they align with the current legislation, particularly since the April 2024 amendments. Consider how you will handle flexible working requests fairly across the organisation. Think about how you can support your staff to find a greater work / life balance, and what other processes and procedures you may need to put in place to enable this.
We also recommend giving training to managers and senior staff to ensure that flexible working requests are evaluated objectively.
The most important thing to remember is that flexible working doesn’t have to be a headache for businesses!
It’s an opportunity to support the wellbeing, motivation and productivity of your employees, and by finding ways to be more flexible as an organisation, you stand yourself in good stead when it comes to being competitive to attracting great talent into your business, retaining your work-force long-term and getting the most out of your people because they feel engaged, supported and able to juggle caring responsibilities and develop their careers at the same time. However, it must work for your business also.
At Metro HR, we’re dedicated to supporting our clients with matters such as flexible working, ensuring they stay compliant and continue to thrive. We make it our business to stay on top of legislative changes and best practice, so that you can focus on what you do best!
To discuss further how we can support your business over the next 100 days and beyond, why not book a call with us to explore what might be possible.
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